According to a survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), employers plan to increase annual starting salaries for MBA hires. Furthermore, employment prospects for these graduates remain excellent. This is why so many working adults and recent college graduates in New Jersey are pursuing MBA degrees. 

In this month’s cover story titled, “MBA Programs Thrive as Job Competition Rises,” Contributing Writer Ann R. Brice reveals the value of an MBA in today’s economy through interviews with deans at various New Jersey business schools.

According to Siamack Shojai, dean of William Paterson University’s Cotsakos College of Business, “In this complex and ever-changing business world, a cutting-edge MBA degree prepares students to meet the managerial and leadership challenges of the 21st century.”

MBAs are general in content, but there are options for concentrations in area such as finance, international business, real estate, healthcare and the exploding field of data analytics. For the full story on the value of an MBA.

The MBA graduates with a concentration in data analytics may find job opportunities at one of New Jersey’s many cities that have become high-tech hubs. On page 32, we present a feature story spotlighting municipalities such as Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, Camden, New Brunswick and others that have the bandwidth, transit access, university links and 24/7 environments that high-tech companies – not to mention Millennials – desire.

Contributing Writer Eric Peterson’s in-depth review of these cities in “The High-Tech City Circuit,” spotlights the attributes these towns have and the high-tech firms that have moved into them. Kathleen Coviello, director of technology and life sciences at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, comments about the growth of the high-tech sector in the state, saying, “These are interesting times for tech entrepreneurship. I’ve been in this role at the EDA for 10 years now, and I’ve never seen such activity.”

The topic of entrepreneurship leads us to Assistant Editor Anthony Bucci’s article on leaving the corporate world and heading out on one’s own. “Going from Employee to Entrepreneur,” features experts’ advice regarding the challenges and opportunities of leaving corporate America and becoming a full-fledged entrepreneur.

We hope you enjoy these and other stories in this issue.